Oscillating vertical spindle sander



Dec. 31, 1968 J. McEw N 3,418,758

OSCILLATING VERTICAL SPINDLE SANDER Filed Jan. 51, 1967 Sheet 6r 2 FIG. I

H m iiiii; iii iiii L INVENTOR- 3 4 1 W JAMES-McEWAN ATTOREYS Dec. 31, 1968 J. M EWAN 3,418,758

OSCILLATING VERTICAL SPINDLE SANDER Filed Jan. 31, 1967 Sheet 2 of 2 INVENTOR.

JAMES McEWAN ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,418,758 OSCILLATING VERTICAL SPINDLE SANDER James McEwan, 138 Stockton Ave., San Jose, Calif. 95111. Filed Jan. 31, 1967, Ser. No. 612,918 Claims. (CI. 5134) This invention relates to an oscillating vertical spindle sander.

An object of this invention is to provide an improved oscillating vertical spindle sander.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved oscillating vertical spindle sander in which the oscillations are controlled by a combined eccentric and worm gear which meshes with the worm mounted on the sander spindle so that up and down movement is imparted to the sander spindle when the worm rotates the combined eccentric and worm gear.

Still another object of this invention is to provide an improved oscillating vertical spindle sander in which the spindle is housed in a sleeve provided with a flange on which the combined worm gear and eccentric are mounted to support the worm gear meshing with a worm on the spindle, said flange being in sliding engagement with a fixed pin which offsets torquing action between the worm gear and the worm when the sander spindle is driven.

Still another object of this invention is to provide an improved oscillating vertical spindle sander provided with a driving motor which is coupled by a flexible coupling provided between the shaft of the motor and a stub shaft, said stub shaft being adapted to receive the lower end of the sander spindle which is adapted to slide in the stub shaft during oscillation of the spindle.

Still another object of this invention is to provide an improved oscillating vertical spindle sander which is provided with a housing adapted to receive a quantity of oil therein, the sander being provided with a spindle adapted to be driven by a motor connected by a stub shaft thereto, said stub shaft being provided with a single blade oil splasher which is positioned to receive oil in the housing and effectively direct oil therefrom over gears employed for oscillating the spindle up and down during rotation of the oil splasher.

Other and further objects of this invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art to which it relates from the following specification, claims and drawings.

This invention is an improvement over oscillating ver tical spindle sanders of the type disclosed in Carter Patent No. 1,277,377 issued Sept. 3, 1918. In accordance with this invention, there is provided an improved mechanism for oscillating the vertical spindle sander. This mechanism is assembled on the bottom side of the cover provided to the housing for the mechanism and it is constructed so that the entire mechanism is readily accessible for inspection or servicing upon removal of this cover. The aforesaid cover is provided with a tubular member in which the supporting sleeve for the spindle is slidably supported. The oscillation producing mechanism includes a worm gear which also functions as the eccentric and is supported on the bottom side of a laterally extending member that is integral with the aforesaid supporting sleeve. The worm gear is provided with an eccentric pivot which is connected by connecting rods to the bottom side of the aforesaid cover so that, when the worm gear is rotated by a suitable worm positioned on the spindle, up and down sliding motion is imparted to the spindle with respect to the tubular member.

Further details of this invention will be set forth in the following specification, claims and drawings, in which, briefly:

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view, partially broken away, of an embodiment of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a detail view taken along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is another detail view showing the supporting mechanism for the sander table;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary view of the top of the sander spindle; and

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary detail view showing a single blade oil splasher attached to the spindle.

Referring to the drawing in detail, reference numeral 10 designates the stand for this sander which is adapted to support it on a suitable floor or other surface. The top part 1011 of the stand is attached to the bottom by suitable bolts and is removable therefrom. This top part 10a is hollow and is adapted to receive the oscillating mechanism which moves the sanding element 12 up and down. A table 11 is attached to the upright members 14a and 14b, which are integral with the cover 14 of the stand part 10a, by a pair of aligned bolts (not shown) so that the table may be tilted and set at various angles with respect to the sanding element 12 which projects upward above the table through a hole formed in the center thereof. The sanding element 12 is provided with a tapered portion at the bottom thereof which fits into a suitable socket in the upper end of the spindle 13.

A suitable hand wheel 14c is provided for adjusting the angle of the table. Hand wheel 14c drives a small gear (not shown) which meshes with the gear sector 14d that is attached to the bottom of the table. Another hand wheel 14e is attached to a threaded rod (not shown) which extends through the arcuate slot in member 14f and is threaded into the upright 14a. Tightening hand wheel 14e serves to clamp member 14;: to the upright 14a to hold the table 11 at a desired selected angle.

The upper part of the spindle 13 is provided with a cap 13a which is supported on the spindle above the hearing 15. This cap extends down over the top of the sleeve 17 and also slightly over the top of the tubular member 18 to prevent grindings and fine material generated during the sanding operation from entering these parts. This cap 13a is held attached to the spindle by a threaded nut 13b which is threaded to the spindle and engages the top of the cap. Nut 13b is also provided with a projection 13c, as shown in FIG. 4, which has a fiat portion that is adapted to engage a flat surface of the sanding element when the tapered end of the element is inserted into the socket at the top of the spindle 13 to prevent the element from turning with respect to spindle 13.

The spindle 13 is rotatably supported by ball bearings 15 and 16 which are positioned in the opposite ends of the sleeve 17. The sleeve 17 is slidable up and down in the tubular member 18 which is formed integral with the cover 14. The bottom end of the sleeve 17 is providedwith a laterally extending member 19 and depending :members 20 and 21 are attached to the bottom thereof by suitable bolts. These depending members are provided with large holes for receiving the shoulders of the worm gear 22 which is adapted to be positioned between these depending members and supported thereby on the bottom of member 19. The bolt 23 is positioned in a hole through the worm gear 22 off center so that this bolt functions as an eccentric when the worm gear 22 is rotated. The arms 24 and 25 are rotatably attached to the outer end parts of the bolt 23 and extend upward to another bolt 26 which is supported by suitable projections integral with the cover 14 on the bottom thereof.

Worm gear 22 meshes with the worm 27 which is fixedly attached to the spindle 13. A pin 28 is positioned in a suitable hole formed in the cover 14 and extends through a hole formed in the flange 19. A quantity of oil is placed into the housing 10a through the oil inlet tube 33 so that the bottom of the Worm gear 22 dips into the oil and carries it to the gear bearings and worm 27. The bottom part of the spindle 13 extends into a hole formed in the stub shaft 29 which is supported by the ball bearing 31 on the bottom 30 of the stand part 10a. An oil seal 32 is provided around the stub shaft 29 in stub shaft hole provided in the bottom 30 to prevent oil from leaking around the shaft. Ball bearings 31 for shaft 29 are positioned in this hole under oil seal 32. A suitable key is provided to the bottom part of spindle 13. This key fits into a slot in the stub shaft 29 whereby, when the stub shaft 29 is rotated by the electric motor 35, the spindle 13 is driven thereby. The shaft 35a of the motor is connected to the bottom of the stub shaft 29 by the flexible coupling 36.

The flexible coupling 36 is made of flexible material positioned between the upper member which is attached to the stub shaft 29 by a suitable key and set screw, and the bottom member is attached to the motor shaft 35a also by a suitable key and set screw. Thus, the upper and lower members of the flexible coupling are joined or coupled by the flexible member which may be made of rubber, leather, canvas, or the like, as is well known in the art. Thus, vibration that may occur in the motor shaft or in the stub shaft is dampened in the flexible coupling. Also, the use of a flexible coupling permits slight misalignment that may occur between the motor shaft and the stub shaft 29.

The motor 35 is supported by suitable bolts on the cross member 10b in the hollow stand 10 and the motor may be removed simply by removing the supporting bolts and taking the motor out of the bottom of the stand. A suitable ring 100 is supported around the outside of the stand 10 by a flange formed integral with this stand. Ring 100 is provided with holes for receiving the tapered end parts of the various sanding members 12a and 12b of different sizes which are thus adapted to be supported around the outside of the stand. Additional inserts 11a, which are adapted to be positioned in the central part of the table 11, are also supported by the ring 100. Inserts 11a are provided with different size holes in the centers thereof, depending upon the sizes of the sanding elements 12, 12a and 12b with which these different inserts are adapted to be used.

In FIG. there is shown an embodiment of this invention employing a single blade oil splasher 34 which is attached to the top part of stub shaft 29. Oil splasher 34 is used in embodiments of this sander in which a quantity of oil is used in housing a such that Worm gear 22 need not dip into the oil, and in that event, splasher 34 slings oil up onto worm gear 22 and worm 27 during operation of the sander.

While I have shown a preferred embodiment of the invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the invention is capable of variation and modification from the form shown so that the scope thereof should be limited only by the proper scope of the claims appended hereto.

What I claim is:

1. In an oscillating vertical spindle sander, the combination comprising a substantially hollow stand having a base member and also having an upper part which is adapted to hold a quantity of oil in the bottom thereof, a motor supported in the hollow stand, said upper part of said stand having a cover, said cover having oppositely disposed upright members on the top thereof, a table pivotally attached to said upright members, a spindle, a sanding element supported by said spindle projecting above said table, a tubular member positioned in a hole in said cover, a sleeve slidable in said tubular member, said sleeve receiving said spindle and bearing means therein supporting said spindle, said sleeve having a member extending laterally from the bottom thereof, a mechanism for oscillating said spindle up and down comprising a worm attached to said spindle below said last mentioned member, a worm gear meshing with said worm, means rotatably supporting said worm gear on the bottom of said last mentioned member, said Worm gear haying an eccentric, means pivotally connecting said eccentric to the bottom of said cover, the upper part of said stand comprising a housing for said oscillating mechanism, a stub shaft having an opening for receiving the bottom part of said spindle, key means slidably connecting said spindle to said stub shaft so that said spindle is movable axially with respect to said stub shaft, means supporting said stub shaft projecting through a hole in the bottom of of said housing and means connecting said st-ub shaft to the shaft of said motor for driving said spindle and rotating said worm and said worm gear, whereby said spindle is caused to oscillate up and down simultaneously as it is rotated.

2. In an oscillating vertical spindle sander, the combination as set forth in claim 1 further characterized in that said means rotatably supporting said worm gear on the bottom of said last mentioned member comprises spaced members having aligned holes therethrough receiving shoulders formed on the opposite sides of said worm gear, said worm gear being positioned between said spaced members.

3. In an oscillating vertical spindle sander, the combination as set forth in claim 1 further characterized in that said eccentric comprising a bolt positioned in a hole through said worm gear, said hole through said worm gear being displaced from the center of said worm gear, and said connecting means comprising a pair of rods pivotally attached to said bolt and to a second bolt supported on the bottom of said cover, said worm gear being positioned between said pair of rods.

4. In an oscillating vertical spindle sander, the combination as set forth in claim 1 further characterized in that said housing for said oscillating mechanism has the bottom thereof sealed, and means for placing oil for lubricating said oscillating mechanism into the bottom part of said housing.

5. In an oscillating vertical spindle sander, the combination as set forth in claim 1 further characterized in that said stub shaft having a rotatable oil splasher attached to the top part thereof, said oil splasher being positioned in the bottom part of said housing in lubricating oil therein for splashing oil on said oscillating mechanism during operation of the sander.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,762,606 6/1930 Bjorklund 5 l34.7 1,881,839 10/1932 Monson 5134.7 1,277,377 9/1918 Carter 51-34] JAMES L, .I ONES, Primary Examiner. 

1. IN AN OSCILLATING VERTICAL SPINDLE SANDER, THE COMBINATION COMPRISING A SUBSTANTIALLY HOLLOW STAND HAVING A BASE MEMBER AND ALSO HAVING AN UPPER PART WHICH IS ADAPTED TO HOLD A QUANTITY OF OIL IN THE BOTTOM THEREOF, A MOTOR SUPPORTED IN THE HOLLOW STAND, SAID UPPER PART OF SAID STAND HAVING A COVER, SAID COVER HAVING OPPOSITELY DISPOSED UPRIGHT MEMBERS ON THE TOP THEREOF, A TABLE PIVOTALLY ATTACHED TO SAID UPRIGHT MEMBERS, A SPINDLE, A SANDING ELEMENT SUPPORTED BY SAID SPINDLE PROJECTING ABOVE SAID TABLE, A TUBULAR MEMBER POSITIONED IN A HOLE IN SAID COVER, A SLEEVE SLIDABLE IN SAID TUBULAR MEMBER, SAID SLEEVE RECEIVING SAID SPINDLE AND BEARING MEANS THEREIN SUPPORTING SAID SPINDLE, SAID SLEEVE HAVING A MEMBER EXTENDING LATERALLY FROM THE BOTTOM THEREOF, A MECHANISM FOR OSCILLATING SAID SPINDLE UP AND DOWN COMPRISING A WORM ATTACHED TO SAID SPINDLE BELOW SAID LAST MENTIONED MEMBER, A WORM GEAR MESHING WITH SAID WORM, 